Air beds with pneumatic bladders with manual and motorized inflators are known. These devices are described in several U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,633 which issued on Dec. 18, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,363 which issued on Dec. 7, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,726 which issued on Nov. 29, 1994, all to Robert Chaffee. These three patents which indicate the general state of the art are hereby incorporated by reference herein as if laid out in full.
The above inventions of the Chaffee patents and other battery powered inflators are known. The requirement of portability dictates the use of battery powered inflators since many applications of such inflators are at locations devoid of typical AC electricity power outlets. For example, campsites and swimming locations often have no electricity, but air mattresses and inflatable water tubes and the like are commonplace.
However, battery powered inflators are designed and adapted for use with a particular bed or other such specific bladder that has a particular inlet valve. Moreover, such battery powered inflators have been developed with rechargeable batteries that are maintenance free while providing long life. One limitation is that these rechargeable batteries are expensive, and since rechargeable, the batteries are not designed for easy removal or replacement.
These known devices have other limitations. One such limitation is the inability to adapt to different sized inlet valves. Typically a large bladder, like an adult sized air mattress, has a larger inlet valve than a small child's tube. The larger sized valve provides faster inflation and/or deflation times, but may be incompatible for use with a child's small air tube.
Another limitation stems from the low pressures associated with air bladders in general. With low pressure but often high volume air flows any impediment to the air flow increases the inflation time significantly. When an inflator is attached to an air mattress with a valve such as described in the above incorporated patents the force needed to overcome the spring force that typically is used to close the diaphragm in the valve in the air mattress, even a small spring force, may significantly increase the time to fully inflate the mattress.
In applications where an inflator is occasionally or rarely used there is a need for an inexpensive inflator. It is an object of the present invention to use inexpensive, dry cell batteries which can be easily replaced.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an inflator with batteries that are easily and quickly changed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simpler, less expensive inflator, which minimizes the air flow resistance of diaphragm valves used in air bladders.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an adapter for allowing the inflator to be used to inflate a wide variety of bladders, from small toy bladders to larger air mattresses or other such large bladders.